Ethnic Overview

The Naxi people in my country are mainly concentrated in Lijiang Naxi Autonomous County, Weixi, Zhongdian, Ninglang County, Yongsheng County, Yunnan Province and Yanyuan County, Sichuan Province. Muli County and Yanjing Town, Mangkang County, Tibet Autonomous Region, etc. The current population is 324,679 people.

Agriculture is the main economic sector of the Naxi people, mainly engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry, growing rice, corn, potatoes, wheat, beans, cotton and hemp. The "Hetao" area of ??the Jinsha River is a famous forest area. There are many kinds of plants in Yulong Mountain area, and it is world-famous as the "plant warehouse".

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Naxi people, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, successfully carried out land reform and completed socialist transformation, and established the Lijiang Naxi Autonomous County. After more than 40 years of development and construction, the Naxi people have undergone earth-shaking changes and have their own college students and scientific and technological personnel. In the past, Naxi areas lacked medical treatment and medicine, and many diseases and plagues were often prevalent. Now medical and health personnel have spread throughout the countryside, and popular diseases have been basically eliminated, and the people's health level has been significantly improved.

Edit this section of customs and habits

Cremation has been popular in funerals since ancient times, and burials became popular in some areas after the late Qing Dynasty.

The clothing of Naxi men is generally the same as that of the Han people. Naxi women in Lijiang wear long coats with wide waists, big sleeves, waistcoats, pleated aprons, trousers, and sheepskin shawls, embellished with beautifully embroidered seven stars, with the sun and moon on the sides, to express hard work. Ninglang Naxi women wear floor-length pleated skirts, short tops, large green cloth buns, and large silver earrings.

Edit this paragraph about religious beliefs and important festivals

The traditional festivals of the Naxi people include the "First Month Agricultural Tools Fair (Bangbang Festival)" and the "March Dragon King Temple" Fair (now Materials Exchange Meeting) and the "July Mule and Horse Meeting". In addition, there are Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Torch Festival, etc.

The Naxi people mainly live in Lijiang Naxi Autonomous County, Yunnan Province, and the rest are distributed in Weixi, Zhongdian, Ninglang, Deqin, Yanbian, Yanyuan, Muli in Sichuan and Zhikang counties in Tibet. . The Naxi people were originally a branch of the ancient Qiang people in northwest China. They migrated to Lijiang and settled in the Lijiang area around the third century AD.

As early as more than a thousand years ago, the Naxi created this nation’s precious cultural heritage—Dongba hieroglyphics and the Dongba Sutra written in this script. The Dongba hieroglyphs are called "Senqiuluqiu" in Naxi language and are praised by Chinese and foreign scholars as "the ancient encyclopedia of the Naxi people". In 1957 the Latin alphabet form of the text was designed.

The Naxi people are mainly engaged in agriculture, animal husbandry, and handicraft industry. The "Lijiang Horse" is famous throughout the country. Now there are small and medium-sized enterprises in machinery repair, coal mining, power generation, fertilizer, electrical machinery, light industry and other fields. Both sides of the Jinsha River produce a variety of medicinal materials and specialty products.

The Naxi people generally believe in "Dongba Religion", and some people believe in Lamaism, Buddhism, Taoism, and natural gods such as heaven, earth, mountains, and water, which have the nature of polytheistic beliefs.

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The Naxi people are warm and hospitable. Whenever they return from hunting, every pedestrian they meet on the road will get a share of the prey. When a distinguished guest comes, the host will cook six or eight dishes to entertain him.

Taboos include: you must dismount before riding to the village, and you cannot tie the horse to a place offering sacrifices to heaven; you cannot stand on a tripod or cross your legs; you cannot stir up ashes in the stove; you cannot make sacrifices to heaven, ancestors, When the God of War is in action, outsiders are not allowed to watch. Avoid sitting on the threshold or using a knife or ax to chop things on the threshold. In some places, it is forbidden to sing folk songs at home; it is forbidden to kill cattle, pack horses and roosters that announce the dawn; it is forbidden to eat dog meat. When entering a Naxi home, you cannot take the initiative to enter the old man's bedroom, the woman's bedroom and the girl's "flower building", and you cannot ask "Ah" "Xia" situation

Edit this paragraph of marriage customs

Naxi men and women mostly socialize during the festival. After young men and women get acquainted, through matchmakers, the parents of both parties complete the horoscope, and the man invites The matchmaker gives the woman two tubes of tea, four or six boxes of sugar, two liters of rice, and in some places, two pots of salt are added to express the eternal vows. It is considered an engagement. A wedding banquet must be arranged during the engagement, and the wedding must go on for 3-3 days. 5 days, when both men and women have to prepare banquets. The banquet is divided into eight people at the top and eight at the bottom. The groom kneels down to invite the guests to take their seats, and then plays music and serves the dishes. When the third course is served, the officiant proposes a toast; when the fifth course is served, the groom and the bride toast the guests with double glasses. liquor. After the banquet, the host and relatives should stand outside the door to close the guests.

Edit this paragraph’s food customs

The Naxi people have three meals a day. Breakfast is usually steamed buns or stewed cakes. Lunch and dinner are more plentiful, usually including one or two stir-fried vegetables, pickles, soup, etc. They especially like to eat Dangye Hui’s beef soup pot and ganba. Whether in Pingba or in mountainous areas, there are many varieties of vegetables, which are available in all seasons. In mountainous areas, potatoes, cabbage and melons are widely grown, and local specialties are used to make various famous dishes. Such as: Steamed Cordyceps Duck, Fritillary Chicken, Gastrodia Chicken, etc. Among them, the Naxi traditional famous dish "stuffed matsutake" is made from matsutake mushroom caps, stuffed with meat paste, steamed and used as a special dish for sacrifices, especially ancestor worship.

The main meat is pork, and most of the pork is made into cured meat. The Pipa pig in Lijiang and Yongning is the most famous, and can be stored for several to more than ten years without deterioration. When working outside, bring wheat flour cakes or tsampa to the temple. Sit around the table when dining. In winter, you like to move to a sunny place to eat.

Typical foods mainly include: Lijiang ham dada, Mabu, snow lotus platter, Lichun copper hot pot, Lijiang fire-roasted dada, etc.

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The Naxi people record the year according to the lunar calendar. The main festivals include Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, Duanyang Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Torch Festival, "March Dragon King Temple Fair", "July Mule and Horse Fair", etc. Many festivals, such as the Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, etc., are roughly the same as those of the local Han people. The Spring Festival is the largest traditional festival and is accompanied by many sacrificial activities.

In addition to the New Year Festival, the Naxi people also have many sacrificial activities. The most solemn among them is the "Naxi Heaven Sacrifice Festival". The Heaven Sacrifice Festival is usually held in the first and middle days of the first lunar month. At that time, a site for the Heaven Sacrifice must be selected, the head of the Dongba Religion will serve as the priest, and the Heaven Sacrifice Pigs that are fed in turn will be slaughtered. , every household has to donate barley and wheat to make wine and bait. During the sacrifice, a large sacrifice of whole animals is used, and everyone present must wash their hands and hold incense and stand in awe. After the sacrifice, pig blood enema, pig head, and offal are used to make soup. After the soup is cooked, it is eaten by each household. Three days after the big sacrifice, small sacrifices will be held on a per-household basis. There is also "sacrifice to Sanduo (the protector god of the tribe)". The Naxi people believe that Sanduo belongs to the sheep. Every year on February 8th and August Sheep Day, whole sheep are sacrificed. The Naxi people in Lijiang area also worship Sanduo. Take your hot pot to a scenic place for a picnic.

Edit this paragraph Naxi Astronomical Calendar

According to the records of more than twenty volumes of the "Dongba Sutra" that have been translated, there are dozens of ancient proper nouns for celestial phenomena. So many. In "Genesis", the names of Renlao, Sutuo, Nero, Ji'a and others who specialize in weather, stars and calendars also appear; from scriptures such as "Baghtu" and "The Origin of the Twelve Zodiac Signs", The Naxi people have long had a clear concept of the four corners (similar to the Eight Diagrams of the Han people); they have determined the directions of the twenty-eight constellations and the method of calculating the sixty-year-old by using the yin and yang "Jingwei" ("five elements") in conjunction with the twelve zodiac signs; and created the The moon is determined by the waxing and waning of the moon, with thirty days in each month, twelve months in a year, and a calendar of three hundred and sixty days, and the twelve zodiac animals are used to record the day, month, and year. From the observation of celestial phenomena and biological activities, the people have also figured out a set of activity patterns about wind, rain, flowers, snow, as well as cuckoos, wild ducks, wild geese, white cranes, etc. to distinguish the characteristics of seasons and carry out agricultural activities according to the farming season. .

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Haipohui In the place where the Naxi people live in Yongning, Yunnan, there is a mysterious and beautiful Lugu Lake. On both sides of the lake, there is a majestic Lugu Lake. Mountain peak - Lion Peak. Lion Peak is a goddess in Naxi mythology and legend, named "Ganmu". Her stunning beauty has attracted the attention of male idols from all over the world. However, like the Yongning Naxi people, she does not have a fixed husband and lives a free and independent life where men do not marry and women do not marry. Every year on the 25th day of the seventh lunar month, the mountain gods come to Yongning to gather with Goddess Ganmu for entertainment and receive blessings. Later, on the 25th day of the seventh lunar month, the Naxi people would gather around Lugu Lake to participate in the annual Haipo Party. People would sing, dance, and have fun, one to cheer for the goddess, and the other to worship the goddess with grand ceremonies. Goddess, pray to her to bless people with safety, abundant harvests, and prosperous livestock farming. Young men and women also took this opportunity to form "Azhu" relationships with each other.

Sanduo Festival

Sanduo Festival is a traditional festival of the Naxi people in Lijiang, Yunnan. It is held every year on the eighth day of the tenth lunar month.

According to legend, in ancient times, the Naxi ancestor Sanduo once subdued the demon here. Since then, every year on the eighth day of the tenth lunar month, people gather at Sanduo Temple to worship the patron saint Sanduo. Sacrificial offerings include whole pigs, whole sheep, chickens, fish, etc.

During the festival, Naxi men, women and children go on spring outings to enjoy the flowers. The young men ride on their horses and participate in horse racing activities such as throwing flags and picking up silver coins. The winner is highly favored by the girls. After dinner, people sat around the bonfire, and the Naxi girl who was good at singing and dancing danced the cheerful "Alili".

Bangbanghui

The Naxi people also have many business festivals. The Naxi people in Lijiang County, Yunnan hold a "Bangbang Festival" every year on the 15th day of the first lunar month, with the main purpose of exchanging bamboo and wood agricultural tools. According to records, this kind of market activity has been around since the Ming Dynasty. According to the tradition of the Naxi people, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Little Year, and spring plowing and production begins after the Little Year. The Bangbang Meeting provides an opportunity and place for preparing farm tools. Plows, hoes, sickles, bamboo baskets, backpacks, poles, etc. are all available here. Naxi farmers have to replace the wooden handles of some farm tools with handles every year, so this farm tool trade fair is called the "Bangbang Fair". Flowers, fruit tree saplings, bonsai, furniture and daily necessities for household use are also sold at Bang Bang Fair.

The legacy of “robbing marriages” still exists in some Naxi areas. This is also a remnant of an ancient marriage custom, reflecting women's resistance to the patriarchal system of living in the husband's home. The wife wants to adhere to the old tradition and live in her mother's house, so the man uses robbery to realize his desire to keep his wife in her husband's house. "Marriage robbery" in modern society is just a form. It is not a real robbery, but a tacit understanding between men and women. In order to use "raw rice is ready to eat" to excuse the woman's parents who have different opinions on marriage. .